The present invention relates to a piezo-electric/electrostrictive device including movable sections which operate based on the displacement movement of a piezo-electric/electrostrictive element, a piezo-electric/electrostrictive device in which the displacement of the movable sections can be detected by a piezo-electric/electrostrictive element, and a method for producing the same. Specifically, the present invention relates to a piezo-electric/electrostrictive device having high strength, high impact resistance, and high moisture resistance in which movable sections can be operated in a large movement efficiently, and a method for producing the same.
Recently, in the field of optics, magnetic recording, and precision processing, there is a demand for a displacement element capable of adjusting the length and position of an optical path by orders of submicron. In an attempt to satisfy such a demand, developments have been pursued for a displacement element which utilizes a displacement generated by an inverse piezo-electric effect and an electrostrictive effect obtained when a voltage is applied to a piezo-electric/electrostrictive material (for example, ferroelectric substances and the like).
As a conventional displacement element such as described above, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-136665 discloses a piezo-electric actuator having a structure where a piezo-electric/electrostrictive material is formed into a plate-like body which is then perforated, thereby integrally forming a fixing section, movable sections, and a beam section for supporting them into one-piece unit, and an electrode layer is formed in the beam section. In this piezo-electric/electrostrictive actuator, when a voltage is applied to the electrode layer, the beam section shrinks in a direction that connects the fixing section to the movable sections due to the inverse piezo-electric effect and electrostrictive effect. As a result, the movable sections can be displaced along an arc or rotatively displaced within the surface of the plate-like body.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-64640 discloses a technique using an actuator with a bimorph. The electrode of the bimorph is divided into a plurality of electrodes, and the divided electrodes are selectively driven. In this manner, positioning can be performed with high accuracy at high speed. This prior art publication shows (in particular, in FIG. 4) the structure where two bimorphs are positioned in an opposed relation to each other.
However, the conventional actuators described above are entirely constituted by fragile materials which are relatively heavy in weight. Therefore, they have low mechanical strength, and are poor in handling characteristics and impact resistance.
Conventionally, in an attempt to improve the mechanical strength of the conventional actuators, the strength of the section easy to vibrate has been enhanced. For this purpose, the enhancement in the rigidity of the vibration section has been conducted. The enhancement adversely affects the basic properties of the actuator itself, such as resonance characteristics and displacement, and causes a problem in that the adjustment of the basic properties becomes difficult.
The present invention has been made in order to improve the impact resistance of the force sensor described in Japanese Patent Applications Nos. 11-114669, 11-259006, and 11-259007 which are prior applications filed by the present inventors. Furthermore, the present invention has been made based on the finding that, in the force sensor described in the U.S. patent application No. 09/501,162 which utilized a piezo-electric body, the impact exerted to the operating body from the outside is easily adsorbed by a viscoelastic body provided into a narrow slot formed under the supporting bed, thereby improving the impact resistance of the vibration plate.
In order to enhance the impact resistance of the device, while giving only a small influence on the basic properties of the device itself, according to the present invention, a piezo-electric/electrostrictive device includes a pair of thin plate sections in an opposed relation to each other, a fixing section for supporting the thin plate sections, the pair of thin plate sections having a movable section at a top end thereof, and at least one of the pair of thin plate sections having one or more piezo-electric/electrostrictive elements, wherein a filler is provided in recesses between the thin plate sections and the movable sections, or in recesses between the thin plate sections and the fixing section. With this arrangement, even if the thin plate sections produce large displacements by receiving a large impact from the outside, the stress generated at the boundary between the thin plate sections and the movable sections or between the thin plate sections and the fixing section is dispersed into the filler provided in the recess. In this manner, there is no damage of the device which has been conventionally resulted from the concentration of the stress, and the impact resistance of the thin plate sections is enhanced.
In the present invention, the concept of the piezo-electric/electrostrictive device resides in that electrical energy and mechanical energy are alternately converted by a piezo-electric/electrostrictive element included therein. Therefore, the piezo-electric/electrostrictive device is most preferably used as an active device, such as various actuators and vibrators, and especially a displacement device which utilizes a displacement created by a backward voltage effect and electrostrictive effect. In addition, the piezo-electric/electrostrictive device is also preferable as a passive device such as acceleration sensor elements and impact sensor elements.
As a material for the filler, an organic resin, such as an adhesive, glass, a mixture of an organic resin and ceramics, metal, or a mixture of metal and ceramics may be used. The filler may be porous or dense. It is preferable that the filler is highly porous as its hardness increases, and is highly dense as its flexibility increases. The filler layer is preferably adhered to the thin plate section, and the movable section, the fixing section, and the filler layer itself have elasticity or flexibility. Furthermore, the filler itself is preferably a viscoelastic body, because a filler with viscoelasticity effectively adsorbs the impact from the outside.
The recess into which the filler is provided has a shape of rectangle. Alternatively, the surface of the recess formed by the inner surface of the movable section or fixing section in an opposed relation to the thin plate section may be in a step-like or tapered shape. When the device is produced by laminating green sheets, the recess may be formed by a single layer or multiple layers. When the recess is formed by a single layer, the preferable thickness of the recess is 0.01 to 0.3 mm, and the preferable depth thereof is 0.03 to 1 mm. The preferable ratio of thickness to depth (thickness/depth) is 0.01 to 10, and more preferably 0.1 to 3. When the recess is formed by multiple layers, the thickness of the recess is preferably increased in the longitudinal direction of the thin plate section.
The thickness of the recess indicates the length of the shortest portion in the recess. The recess does not necessarily have a uniform size, but its opening or bottom may have a larger size.
Preferably, a method for producing a piezo-electric/electrostrictive device including a pair of thin plate sections in an opposed relation to each other, a fixing section for supporting the thin plate sections, the pair of thin plate sections having a movable section at a top end thereof, and at least one of the pair of thin plate sections having one or more piezo-electric/electrostrictive elements, includes the steps of forming and preparing a first ceramic green sheet to be the thin plate section, a second ceramic green sheet having a first window section, and a third ceramic green sheet having a window section smaller than the first window section, and interposing at least the second ceramic green sheet between the first and third ceramic green sheets to prepare a laminated body of a plurality of ceramic green sheets.
It is also preferable that a method for producing a piezo-electric/electrostrictive device including a pair of thin plate sections in an opposed relation to each other, a fixing section for supporting the thin plate sections, the pair of thin plate sections having a movable section at a top end thereof, and at least one of the pair of thin plate sections having one or more piezo-electric/electrostrictive elements, includes the steps of forming and preparing a first ceramic green sheet to be the thin plate section, and a second ceramic green sheet having a window section, and interposing a sheet containing a high-melting point metal between the first ceramic green sheet and the second ceramic green sheet.
In addition, it is preferable that the sheet containing the high-melting point metal is formed by a printing method.